Improvement in car-brakes



3Shee&s--Sheet1, l. E. RICHARD.

Car-Brakes.

Patel; ed Dec. 1, 1874..

INVENTOR Attorneys TWE GRAPHIC CO. FNEJTO LITI'LSDL 4! PARK PLACQIJ.

3 Sheets--$heet 2.

J. E; RICHARD.

Car-Brakes.

Patented Dec. 1, 1874.

N0.l57,35l.

WITNESSES 3 Sheets--Sheet 3. I. E. RICHARD.

Car-Brakes. No.157,351. Patented 080.1,1814.

WITNESSES INVENTOR MKM f M I Attorneys THE GRAPHIC co, nm-umass 4| PARKPLAcinLY UNITED STATES JEAN E. RICHARD, OF COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA,ASSIGNOR OF PART PATENT OFFICE.

INTEREST TO EDMOND O. RICHARD AND JOSEPH C. RICHARD, OF

QUEBEC, CANADA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CAR-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 157,351, dated December1, 1874; application tiled August 8, 1874.

OAsE A.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JEAN E. RICHARD, ofColumbia, in the county of Richland and State of South Carolina, haveinvented a new and valuable Improvement in Car-Brakes; and I tail views.

This invention has relation to railroad-car brakes, wherein a sectionalshaft, extending from the locomotive through the train, is employed forapplying the brakes on all the cars slmultan'eously. My objects are toso contrive a brake, working on this general principle, that either theengineer in his cab or a brakesman stationed 011 any car can apply allthe brakes at the same time also, to provide for the application of thebrakes should any one of the coaches or the locomotive leave the track;also, to enable the engineer to apply the brakes whether the train berunning back- ,ward or forward; also, to combine with the section of thebrake-shaft a novel coupling, which will automatically uncouple shouldany one of the cars in a train leave the track. Another object I have inview is to hang the brake-shaft from the bolsters of the truckfrarnes insuch manner that the trucks are free to move about their king-bolts andfollow curves in the road without interfering with the operation of thebrake-shaft.

The following is a description of my in1 provements:

1n the annexed drawing, Figs. 1 and 2, I

i have represented my improvements applied to the bed of a coach and theframe of a locomotive.

A designates the long section of a brakerod, which extends from onetruck-frame to the other, and has its end bearings in boxes a a, whichare supported and held in place in circular hangers a a depending fromthe bolsters of the truck-frames, and which are free to swivel laterallyon screw-pivots a a having cone-shanks. These cone-shanked pivots can beset up and always kept tight, thus preventing the bearing-boxes frontlooseness. A A designate two end sections of the brakerod, whichsections are connected to the long section A by means of gimbal-joints bb, which allow sections A universal motion. The pivot-screws of thegimbals have cone-shanks, as shown in Fig. 5, which allow them to be setup to compensate for wear, as described for the hangers of the boxes toa. The sections A A have couplings c on their free ends, which connectthem with the corresponding sections on other cars. One section A has afemale fork adapted to receive a male fork on the section A of anothercar, and this female fork is provided with a spring-pin, C which entersa groove, C in one of the prongs of the male fork, and prevents lateraldetachment of the coupling, but allows an automatic uncoupling of thesections should a car'or locomotive leave the track. The jointedsections pass freely through hangers B B on the ends of the coach, towhich hangers gates d d are hinged for the purpose of holding one of thesections A up out of the way of a corresponding section on another carwhile coupling cars together. After the ears are coupled the couplings cc are engaged by a side movement. On one of the trucks I haverepresented brake-bars C C carrying brake-shoes e e, and hung from thetruck-frames in the usual well-known manner. These bars C C areconnected together by means of a rod, 0, and to one of the bars anangular lever, D, is pivoted, one end of which is connected to the rod0, and the other arm, which rests on a suitable support, is connected bytwo chains, f f, to the section A of the brake-rod. The chains f f passaround the section A in opposite directions, so that whichever way thissection is rotated the brakes Will be applied.

On the other truck I have represented an improved braking device,wherein the brakebars 9 9 have their end bearings in links g between thetruck -wheels, which links are pivoted to the ends of an arched rod, 9that is suspended from the section A by means of the chains f f,arranged in a similar manner to the chains f f of lever D. The lowerends of said chains f f are connected to an eye-bolt, 9 which passesloosely through the rod 1 and is connected to a spring, 9 Thebrake-shoes g are suspended by hangers from the truck-frame, and whenthe brakes are off they are depressed by mean s of sprin gs 's. Theobject of the spring g is to equalize the pressure on all of thebrake-shoes 9 so that they will all press alike on the wheels. Betweenthe bearing-box a and the gimbaljoint I), at each end of the car, is apulley, h, shown clearly in Fig. 9, one portion of which is cut away fora purposepresently explained. To the grooved periphery of this pulley achain, 6, is secured, which passes up and over a pulley, j, and isattached to two chains, 7t 70, one of which, 70, passes around a pulley,l, and is wound around a hand brake-rod, E. The other chain, 70, passesfreely through the hanger B and is provided with means for coupling itwith a similar chain on another car or on the locomotive.

It is desired to have as little slack in the chains i 70 70 as possiblewhen the brakes are off, and for this reason I construct the pulley hwith one portion omitted, so that, in applying the brakes, the chainwill pass from'the periphery of the pulley on'the shaft A of smallerdiameter.

It will be seen that the brakes can be applied by a person on thecar-platform by the wellknown hand brake-rod also, that should a carjump the track, the brakes will be automatically applied by the draft onthe chains k.

I will now d scribe the mechanism on the locomotive. A is the brake-rodsection, which is supported in suitable bearings beneath the en gineerscab and provided with. a jointed coupling, 0, like the other couplings0, above described; also, with a perimeter spur-wheel, m, adapted toengage with a worm-screw, m, on a horizontal transverse shaft, F. Thisshaft F has its bearings in a vertically-rocking frame, G, to the frontcross-bar of which the lower end of an angular hand-lever, H, is

pivoted, the upper portion of which lever passes up through the floor ofthe en gineers cab, as shown in Fig. 1. There is also at tached to thefront cross-bar of frame G a chain, 70 which is fastened in any suitablemanner to the chain M. The ends of the worm-shaft F are square andshouldered, and onthese square portions friction-clamps n a are appliedin pairs, which clamps are like double convex lenses, and they areconfined together by means of springs p p and adjust- The clamps arereversible, so

in g-nuts t t.

that when one side wears out the other side can be used. The spacebetween each pair of clamps n n is in the same vertical plane as the rimof the driving-wheel of the locomotive, against which the clamps arecaused to act. By means of the nuts 1? t the clamps are held togetherwith more or less force, according to the degree of friction which it isintended they shall exercise. When the engineer desires to apply thebrakes he presses the lever H forward and engages the worm m with thewheel m, at the same time pressing the frictionclamps n 11. against therims of the drivingwheels, which clamps will forcibly hug the rims androtate the shaft F, which in turn will rotate the brake-shaftsthroughout the train and apply the brakes to all the cars at the sametime.

Should any one of the cars leave the track it will uncouple from theother cars, and the brakes will be applied by the draft onthe chains 7070 In practice I shall employ brakes for the locomotive driving-wheelsactuated by means of chains connected to the shaft A and to a lever, N,as shown in Fig. 11.

What I claimas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The brake-rod section A, hung in boxes a a from the truck-frames, incombination with sections A A connected to section A by gimbal-joints,and provided with couplings, substantially as described.

2. The gates 61 in hangers B, combined with thejointed brake-rodsections A substantially as described.

3. The brakerods g g carrying shoes 9 and applied to links g 9 incombination with the arched bar 9 equalizing-spring g eye-bolt g andchains f f, substantially as described.

4. In combination with the brake-rod A on the locomotive, the spur-wheelm, worm-shaft F carryingiriction-clamps, rocking frame G, and hand-leverH, substantially as described.

5. The friction-clamps n n on shaft F, in combination withpressure-springs p p and ad justing-nuts t, substantially as set forth.

6. Chain 70 connected at one end to the frame G, and at the other end tothe brakechain 70 and combined there-with, as and for the purpose setforth.

7. Forked couplings c, in combination with pins 0 grooves 0 andbrake-rods, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my namein the presence of two witnesses.

JEAN ELIE RICHARD. WVitnesses:

GEO. E. UPI-IAM, H. 0. HOLLINGSHEAD.

